The two leading emerging market ETFs Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: VWO) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSEArca: EEM) are both based on the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, which include Israel, Korea and Taiwan, reports Olivier Ludwig for IndexUniverse. MSCI Barra has stated that Korea and Taiwan will stay in the MSCI Index until mid-2011 and Israel will be removed in late spring. The three countries make up around 25% of the total weighting in VWO and EEM.

EEM has 476 holdings and an expense ratio of 0.72%. VWO has 800 holdings and an expense ratio of 0.27%.

Emerging Global Advisors has based its emerging market ETF, EGA Emerging Global Shares Dow (NYSEArca: EEG), on the Dow Jones Emerging Markets Titans Index, which doesn’t include Israel, Korea and Taiwan. In fact, Emerging Global Advisors has stated that they pride themselves on the pure emerging market exposure contained in their funds. The SPDR S&P Emerging Markets (NYSEArca: GMM), based on the S&P Emerging BMI Index, is another emerging market ETF option that excludes Korea, but it includes Taiwan and Israel.

EEG holds 83 of the largest companies and has an expense ratio of 1.10%. GMM has 508 holdings and an expense ratio of 0.59%. [Indonesia ETF: Destined for Greatness in 2010?]

Richard Kang, chief investment officer at Emerging Global, commented that the three countries all have per capita GDP of more than $20,000 a year and include established middle classes. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has disqualified the three countries as emerging markets based on those two criteria. [Emerging Market ETFs: High Growth Equals High Returns?]

What does it mean for you? If you’re concerned about getting pure emerging market exposure, educate yourself on where the various indexers stand on the matter and what the funds own. Many funds classified as having emerging market exposure do, in fact, hold markets that many would consider to be developed. [The Top 10 ETFs Investors Are Trading.]

For more information on emerging markets, visit our emerging markets category.

Max Chen contributed to this article.

Quadruple witching, a situation in which four contracts expire on the same day, is threatening to send the markets lower. If the major indexes do close down today, it will snap an eight-day winning streak.

One bit of news in particular has taken the markets by surprise: for the first time since July 2008, India hiked interest rates after inflation spiked to a 16-month high. The shocking move happened a month ahead of the central bank’s monetary policy meeting. WisdomTree India Earnings (NYSEArca: EPI) is down about 0.6% so far today. [India ETFs: The World's Next Superpower?]

Health care is gearing up for a showdown, possibly as soon as Sunday. Democrats have been feverishly working to bring more votes to their side in an effort to get the $940 billion bill passed, and by all appearances, it’s going to be a close vote. First Trust Health Care AlphaDEX (NYSEArca: FXH) is flat so far this morning. [Biotech ETFs for Any Risk Appetite.]

Things are looking up for Boeing (NYSE: BA), which announced today that it would speed up production plans for its 777 and 747 models in anticipation of more demand from commercial airlines in the next few years. Boeing foresees a recovery in the sector this year, followed by a profitable year in 2011. It expects that this will lead to calls for new planes by 2012. iShares Dow Jones U.S. Aerospace & Defense (NYSEArca: ITA) is up nearly 1% this morning; Boeing is 7.9%.

State Street Global Advisors is planning on launching several bond focused ETFs that will join a flood of new bond ETFs hitting the market. The new funds will span both the public and private sectors, and some will be a truly unique twist on the corporate bond space, focusing on specific industries. [Another State Street Offering in the Pipe.]

Oliver Ludwig for Index Universe reports that the planned ETFs are:

• SPDR S&P Agency Bond ETF
• SPDR Barclays Capital Corporate Bond ETF
• SPDR Barclays Capital Corporate Industrial Bond ETF
• SPDR Barclays Capital Corporate Financial Bond ETF
• SPDR Barclays Capital Corporate Utilities Bond ETF
• SPDR Barclays Capital Zero Coupon Bond ETF
  
• SPDR Barclays Capital CMBS ETF

Fixed-income funds have drawn many investors that prefer the types of funds that do well when interest rates are rising. Rates are going to go up again at some point as the economy recovers and business activity resumes. [Why It's Time to Approach Bond ETFs Differently.]

Leveraged ETF provider ProShares is out this week with the first single inverse ETFs offering exposure to China, the U.S. real estate market and the U.S. basic materials sector. The funds seek to provide 100% inverse performance on an index on a daily basis. The new funds are:

• ProShares Short FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (NYSEArca: YXI)
• ProShares Short Real Estate (NYSEArca: REK)
• ProShares Short Basic Materials (NYSEArca: SBM)

For more stories about new ETFs, visit our new ETFs category.

The BRICs – Brazil, Russia, India and China – earned the label by being the world’s fastest-growing economies. Perhaps there’s room for another letter in there after recent developments.  After all, the Market Vectors Indonesia ETF (NYSEArca: IDX) is up 12.3% year-to-date and an astounding 221.3% since the market’s March 9, 2009, low. [Is Indonesia BRIC Material?]

Indonesia came out with a whole lot of good news, including a jump in the tax base, fresh foreign investment, rises in corporate ratings and earnings, a surging stock market and a strengthening rupiah, according to Jakarata Globe.

• The Jakarta Composite Index and the rupiah surged after the U.S. Federal Reserve promised to keep interest rates low, which prompted foreign funds to continue a buying spree.
• Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said that more than half of the registered taxpayers have submitted their tax returns for the year; this is huge, since taxes account for about 70% of state revenue.
• Four Australian companies have agreed to invest more than $1 billion to expand businesses in Indonesia this year.
• National flag carrier PT Garuda Indonesia expects net profits to rise by 15% this year on strong passenger growth. Standard & Poor’s raised the corporate credit ratings of state-owned firms PT Perusahaan Listrik Negara, PT Perusahaan Gas Negara and PT Telekomunikasi Selular.
• Indonesia’s Central Bank raised its 2011 growth projections to as much as 6.5% on accelerated consumer spending from earlier estimates of 6%, reports Novrida Manurung for BusinessWeek. The Central Bank also increased its 2010 growth estimates to 5.6% from 5.2%. Inflation may average between 4% and 6% for the year.
• President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has pledged $140 billion over the next five years for spending on roads, seaports and airports as part of a push to deliver GDP growth of at least 6.6% by 2014.

President Barack Obama’s plans visit to Indonesia to help spur market-oriented reforms that could boost trade between the United States and Indonesia and create more U.S. jobs by growing market access, reports Doug Palmer for The Washington Post. Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao will also be visiting Indonesia just weeks after Obama, which is seen by some observers as a healthy dose of competition between Washington and Beijing.

For more information on Indonesia, visit our Indonesia category.

• Market Vectors Indonesia ETF (NYSEArca: IDX)

Max Chen contributed to this article.

The health care conversation continues along. House Democrats this morning are keeping on with their push to get health care legislation up and running, stating that it would expand coverage and lower the gargantuan federal deficit. Democrats are fast and furiously working to lure Republicans to their side and have worked to make the bill more appealing to both parties. Health Care Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLV) is up slightly this morning. [Biotech ETFs for Any Risk Appetite.]

Teva Pharmaceutical (NASDAQ: TEV), the world’s largest generic drug maker, has snapped up Ratiopharm, a German generic drug maker, for a cool $5 billion. Ratiopharm is a privately owned company. iShares MSCI Israel (NYSEArca: EIS) is down a hair this morning; Teva is 22.5% of the fund. [Emerging Market ETFs: A Unique Growth Story.]

Growth in the second half of the year could be slower, if February’s leading indicators are to be believed. The index grew 0.1% last month, the smallest gain in nearly a year. The good news is that the gain met expectations, and some of the indicators may have been sent lower as a result of the Snowpocalypse.

Inflation? Not right now. Consumer prices stayed steady last month and showed no movement overall. Excluding food and fuel costs, though, prices gained 0.1%. In fact, energy costs declined 0.5% and food rose 0.1%. Between rock-bottom rates and billions in stimulus dollars floating around out there, inflation has been a real concern, but these numbers show that it’s not exactly imminent. PowerShares DB Agriculture (NYSEArca: DBA) is up 0.6% so far today. [6 ETFs for the Agriculture Recovery.]

The number of workers filing new claims for unemployment benefits dropped once again last week for the third straight week. Despite those decreases, though, they’re still at very high levels that continue to concern lawmakers.

Black Enterprise recently assembled a panel of experts to discuss where we’ve been, where we’re going and what the next big growth spots are.

At the round table discussion, there was a general sense of cautious optimism. Virtual Private Server reports that the growth in the United States is going to be slow, however, there will be some growth, just not quickly.

Here are some of the points that came up:

• Overseas growth is a large determinant in the United States’ economy, given that most of its production is carried out elsewhere. Inexpensive labor markets abroad offer U.S. companies good opportunities to optimize competitiveness to expand further.
• Over the past couple of years, much of the returns have been made in spurts, short periods of time, and the returns will continue to be there, along with market volatility.
• Transnational markets are being seen as the last bastions of progress in U.S. economy. The rationale behind this prediction is the fact that most trans-border mergers and transnational expansions are stabilizing on their own, without state regulation.
• The world is a global market now like never before. There is no historical precedent. Never before have we had emerging markets that have stabilized. In previous times, we always had emerging market opportunities, but there was always a lot of risk. [How Emerging Market Growth is Giving High Returns.]

Emerging market investments are full of opportunity, and now with ETFs,the ability to target these markets from a better angle has never been easier. [A Different Tack With Emerging Market ETFs.]

For more stories about emerging markets, visit our emerging markets category.

• Vanguard Emerging Markets ETF (NYSEArca: VWO)

• iShares MSCI Emerging Markets Index (NYSEArca: EEM)

• Emerging Global Shares Dow Jones Emerging Markets Energy Titans (NYSEArca: EEO)

SDPR S&P 500 (NYSEArca: SPY). SPY is one of the go-to ETFs for exposure to the broader market. No wonder: the S&P 500 is the index that is most watched by professional traders because the large-cap index is considered one of the broadest measures of the state of the U.S. economy. [Indexes ETF Investors Should Know.]

Financial Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLF). XLF holds some of the biggest banks in the country, but they’re under fire these days. Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is expected to unveil legislation that will be even tougher on the financial industry than President Barack Obama’s original plan. Dodd’s bill will allow the Federal Reserve to examine any bank holding company with assets in excess of $50 billion. Large financial companies that aren’t banks could also fall under scrutiny under the plan. [6 ETFs to Play the Financial Recovery.]

PowerShares QQQ (NASDAQ: QQQQ). Technology is leading the way out of the recession. Dr. Ed Yardeni of Yardeni Research says that tech will come out ahead this year and “industry analysts are raising both their 2010 and 2011 estimates as the sector continues to deliver more positive earnings surprises than the other sectors.” The tech sector’s top performers have some things in common, such as companies that have big global footprints and strong, clean balance sheets. Additionally, valuations look attractive, tech companies are continuing to put up record revenue numbers and capital expenditure may begin to increase. [Why Tech ETFs May Keep Leading in 2010.]

iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSEArca: EEM). The man who coined the term “emerging markets,” Antoine van Agtmael, chief investment officer at Emerging Markets Management, says emerging market shares could waver in a 20% up or down range this year. It won’t be the sell-off of 2008, but it may not be the bonanza seen in 2009. Emerging markets still have value and although the returns may not be what they had been, you can’t fight the trend. [Emerging Market ETFs: A Temporary Pause?]

iShares Russell 2000 Index Fund (NYSEArca: IWM). On average, small-caps outperform their large-cap brethren for a full three years coming out of a recession, according to Morningstar. Coming off particularly nasty slowdowns, small-caps boast even more endurance. For example, after the 1973-1974 recession, small-caps trounced large-caps for an entire decade, returning an average of 28% per year. Furthermore, the small size of these shares make them nimble and better equipped to withstand an economy’s ups and downs. Small-caps have a historical tendency to outperform because they’re better able to adapt to shifting market conditions. [The Case for Small-Cap ETFs.]

United States Natural Gas (NYSEArca: UNG). President Barack Obama is unveiling a proposal for coal-burning power plants to switch to natural gas. That’s because natural gas is cleaner, and the United States has got it in spades. Big oil might like the proposal, too, as many companies have made significant investments into natural gas. [Obama's Proposal Could Be a Win for Natural Gas ETFs.]

iShares Dow Jones U.S. Real Estate (NYSEArca: IYR). At the very least, real estate’s comeback from the lows is impressive. Investors had priced in total financial ruin that never materialized; that’s the good thing. But now the market may have gone too far in the other direction; there are concerns that it has “overshot” and calls for a strong recovery are way too hopeful at this point. Worse yet, if a double-dip recession strikes, real estate stocks could be among the hardest-hit. [Real Estate ETFs: Big Improvements, Big Challenges.]

iShares MSCI Japan (NYSEArca: EWJ). Joblessness in Japan is dropping and jobs availability is o the rise. It’s taken as a sign that improving exports and output are fueling the necessary economic growth. But don’t get too excited; analysts still feel that, as in most developed markets, a recovery in Japan will be slow. [3 Things Japan ETF Needs Now.]

iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (NYSEArca: FXI). The Chinese government also has a vested interest in building and maintaining the country’s infrastructure: when there are roads, runways, electric power, clean water and more, social unrest declines. Meanwhile, the country still struggles with concerns over an asset bubble and is taking steps to mitigate these issues. China’s government warned that China’s asset prices could fluctuate dramatically if global stimulus policies are reduced. [China ETF Plays.]

Energy Select Sector SPDR (NYSEArca: XLE). Energy is a major component of daily life around the world. If futures-based energy ETFs aren’t for you, perhaps an equities ETF such as this one might be a better bet. Wild price swings in oil, natural gas and gasoline may take awhile to become evident in these funds, making them slightly less volatile. The oil industry is expanding its options into other energy fields as it anticipates the eventual depletion of oil reserves. [How to Harness Energy by Using ETFs.]

For full disclosure, Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of UNG and QQQQ.

Max Chen contributed to this article.

The jobs bill would give a temporary payroll tax holiday to companies that hire unemployed workers. There’s lots of skepticism that the bill will actually do much to generate jobs, but optimists think it could lead to as many as 250,000 jobs by year-end. About 8.4 million jobs have been lost since the recession began, however, so it could be just a drop in the bucket.

Inflation is still tame, evidenced by the wholesale price decline of 0.6% last month. The Federal Reserve plans to keep interest rates low, although we might see some steps to bring monetary policy back to normal by the end of the year. Overall, the decline in the Producer Price Index was led by a 7.4% drop in gas prices, while food prices rose 0.4%. Gas prices are now on the way back up. United States Gasoline (NYSEArca: UGA) is up about 0.7%. [Oil and Gas ETF Plays for Rising Energy Prices.]

The World Bank is all but begging China to slow down, urging its government to take steps to cool the economy and stave off inflation. The country’s growth is expected to accelerate to 9.5% this year. China has been doing what it can, ordering banks to step up their reserves and exiting stimulus measures that had been put in place. iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 (NYSEArca: FXI) is up nearly 2% this morning. [Play the Chinese Yuan's Fortunes with These ETFs.]

While no one argues with the fact that, eventually, the Fed is going to have to raise rates, few seem to feel that any such day is around the corner. Once the Fed speaks, though, investors will be parsing the statement for subtext. But the Fed has said it again and again: inflation is not an imminent threat, and rates will stay put for now. iShares Barclays 1-3 Year Treasury Bond (NYSEArca: SHY) is flat so far today. [8 ETFs That Can Add Income.]

Joblessness may not improve anytime soon, according to a member of the Obama administration. In fact, the exact forecast was dire: employers in the United States won’t hire enough workers this year to nudge the jobless rate much lower than the current 9.7%. This news lends credence to the argument that the Fed could very well stay put on rates for the time being. On the positive side, the administration doesn’t think that the situation will worsen.

Emerging markets could take a little breather this year, if one expert is correct. The man who coined the term “emerging markets,” Antoine van Agtmael, chief investment officer at Emerging Markets Management, says shares could waver in a 20% up or down range this year. It won’t be the selloff of 2008, but it won’t be the bonanza seen in 2009. Emerging markets still have value and although the returns may not be what they had been, you can’t fight the trend. iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (NYSEArca: EEM) is up about 0.8% so far today. [Brazil ETFs: Using Caution If There's a Bubble.]

For full disclosure, Tom Lydon’s clients own shares of SHY.

Direct foreign investment into Brazil’s economy is forecast to increase 47% this year, but many are beginning to broach the “B” word – Bubble. Brazil is going to host the World Cup in 2014, the Summer Olympics in 2016, the middle class is exploding and GDP has tripled since 2003. The country’s planning minister expects the economy to grow 6% this year. You can see what’s so appealing about Latin America’s largest country. [Our Guide to the BRICs.]

Last year, international investors added $11.4 billion to their stock holdings, the most since records began getting kept in 1994, says  Joshua M. Brown for The Faster Times. Many believe the money will keep coming beyond 2010, too. [Brazil ETF Shows Is Might.]

The thing about bubbles is that you never know for sure whether it is one until it pops. Whether Brazil is in a bubble or not, you can protect yourself by first learning to spot the signs of a bubble, then implementing a trading strategy that incorporates a stop loss. Ours is set at 8% – high enough that we’re not in and out frequently, low enough to have a limit on losses. By having a point at which you get out, you can participate in any potential long-term uptrend resting assured that your risk on the downside is capped. [How to Spot and Avoid Bubbles.]

For more stories about Brazil, visit our Brazil category.

• iShares MSCI Brazil (NYSEArca: EWZ)

• Market Vectors Brazil Small Cap (NYSEArca: BRF)

• WisdomTree Dreyfus Brazilian Real (NYSEArca: BZF)